Waypoints A Digital Archive of U.S. Coast Guard History

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Waypoints A Digital Archive of U.S. Coast Guard
History

• Final Project Showcase
• Ken Langford

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U.S. Coast Guard Historical Archive

• Maintained by U.S. Coast Guard historians office
  in Washington, D.C.
• Donated materials from donors/donor groups
  materials collected by USCG historians
• Size of collection 200K artifacts (depends on
  who you ask)

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Diverse Collection of Artifacts

• Physical artifacts
• (e.g., lighthouse lenses, artistic works)
• Historical files
• (e.g., case documents of the Titanic sinking)
• Photographic images

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Current Storage Solution
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Current Access Method (paper)
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Current Access Method (digital)
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The Solution Waypoints

• Administrative interface
• Capture information on artifacts in a structured,
  consistent way
• Add U.S. Coast Guard-specific metadata to enhance
  search/retrieval
• Public interface
• Access entire collection online
• Promote exploration of underutilized (public)
  materials

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Lessons Learned
Iterative development processes are the key to
superior systems design.